FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Oakland, CA (April 18, 2014) – The Comprehensive Thalassemia Center at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland will host a gala event, "An Evening Under the Stars," at Chabot Space & Science Center on Saturday, May 3 at 6pm. The gala will benefit the thalassemia program and patients, outreach activities, and patient services. The evening will include dinner, a raffle and silent auction, and a celestial show at the planetarium.

UCSF Benioff Oakland’s Comprehensive Thalassemia Center is one of the premier centers in the nation dedicated to the study and treatment of thalassemia. The close collaboration between the hospital and pediatric research institute is one of the unique strengths of the program. Scientists conducting state-of-the-art research work side-by-side with physicians doing clinical investigation and treatment, gives patients the best care available. The thalassemia center is dedicated to developing therapies to treat and cure the 200,000 infants born worldwide each year with sickle cell or thalassemia. (For more information about thalassemia, please click here.)

Chabot Space & Science Center is located at 10000 Skyline Blvd. in Oakland. For more information about tickets or to donate an item for the raffle or silent auction, please contact Laurice Levine at 510-428-3885, ext. 5427 or email LLevine@mail.cho.org.

About UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland
UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland (formerly Children’s Hospital & Research Center Oakland) is a premier, not-for-profit medical center for children in Northern California, and is the only hospital in the East Bay 100% devoted to pediatrics. UCSF Benioff Oakland affiliated with UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital San Francisco on January 1, 2014. UCSF Benioff Oakland is a national leader in many pediatric specialties including hematology/oncology, neonatology, cardiology, orthopedics, sports medicine, and neurosurgery. The hospital is one of only two solely designated California Level 1 pediatric trauma centers in the region, and has one of largest pediatric intensive care units in Northern California. UCSF Benioff Oakland has 190 licensed beds, over 500 physicians in 43 specialties, more than 2,600 employees, and a consolidated annual operating budget of more than $500 million. UCSF Benioff Oakland is also a leading teaching hospital with an outstanding pediatric residency program and a number of unique pediatric subspecialty fellowship programs.
UCSF Benioff Oakland’s research arm, Children’s Hospital Oakland Research Institute (CHORI), is internationally known for its basic and clinical research. CHORI is at the forefront of translating research into interventions for treating and preventing human diseases. CHORI has 250 members of its investigative staff, a budget of about $50 million, and is ranked among the nation’s top ten research centers for National Institutes of Health funding to children’s hospitals. For more information, go to www.childrenshospitaloakland.org and www.chori.org.
###